A Last Resort to Avoid Tooth Extraction: Let’s Take a Look at the Apicoectomy Process Using MTA at a Garak-dong Dental Clinic

Hello.

This is Yonsei Dagam Dental Clinic in Garak-dong.

The ultimate goal of treatment is

to preserve natural teeth as much as possible.

Although many conservative procedures

have been developed and advanced,

the problem sometimes recurs even after general treatment.

In particular, when inflammation

reappears at the root tip after

root canal treatment,

retreatment may be attempted,

but in some cases it is not possible.

When it feels too wasteful to

extract the tooth,

a Garak-dong dental clinic has

a last resort to save the tooth.

That procedure is apicoectomy.

What Is Apicoectomy?

It is a surgical procedure that

removes the tip of the tooth root

and the infected tissue around it.

For example, in what situations

is it performed?

During root canal treatment,

a post is inserted and filled,

and problems may arise even after

completion of the Post Core.

In such cases, the process of

removing the post for retreatment

places significant stress on the tooth,

and in severe cases there may even be

a risk of fracture.

Also, due to complex root anatomy,

apicoectomy may be considered when

thorough removal of infection is difficult

with conventional root canal treatment.

Let’s look at the procedure

performed at the Garak-dong dental clinic.

First, after identifying the exact

location of the lesion, the gum is incised.

Especially in the case of front teeth,

it is important to design the incision line

so that gingival recession is minimized.

After the incision, visibility is secured

in the area where the apical lesion is located.

The granulation tissue and infected tissue

in the lesion area are thoroughly removed.

After the infected root portion is resected,

the end is retrofilled with a biocompatible material

such as MTA (Mineral Trioxide Aggregate).

MTA has excellent sealing ability

and biocompatibility,

making it ideal for root canal sealing.

It can also set in a moist environment,

has antibacterial effects,

and promotes healing of the surrounding tissue.

Because of these characteristics, MTA is used

not only in apicoectomy,

but also in a variety of treatments such as

perforation repair and direct pulp capping.

If bone loss is severe at this stage,

the Garak-dong dental clinic may also

perform bone grafting at the same time.

In the final step, the soft tissue flap

is placed back in position

and sutured to complete the procedure.

Postoperative swelling and pain may occur,

but they gradually decrease over a few days,

and the sutures are usually removed

after one week.

A scar may remain on the gingiva afterward,

but as healing progresses, it can heal cleanly.

Follow-up Examination After 6 Months

At the routine checkup six months later,

a panoramic X-ray was taken at the Garak-dong dental clinic,

and the results showed that

the apical lesion had clearly decreased.

Apicoectomy is generally performed in clinic-level settings

mainly for the upper front teeth, premolars,

and the lower front teeth.

This is related to anatomical accessibility,

and especially in the molar area, access is difficult,

so specialized microsurgical equipment

and techniques may be required.

What we wanted to share through this post today

at the Garak-dong dental clinic is that,

just as reinfection can occur after

root canal treatment,

there is no guarantee that apicoectomy

will result in 100% healing either.

In particular, if a tooth is severely cracked

or fractured,

after all, extraction may become unavoidable.

Even so,

apicoectomy is a valuable treatment option

for preserving natural teeth.

To avoid reaching the point of having to

extract a tooth,

we hope you will regularly check your oral condition

through routine examinations,

and that you can detect problems early

and preserve your precious teeth

through appropriate treatment.

This was Yonsei Dagam Dental Clinic in Garak-dong.

Thank you.^^

2024.10.04~2025.04.25